The 6 Best Credit Monitoring Services Of 2020

Credit monitoring isn’t just about watching your credit score — it’s about protecting your financial identity in a world where data breaches and fraud are rising every year.

The best services in 2026 go beyond simple alerts: they monitor all three major credit bureaus for suspicious activity, scan the dark web for leaked personal data, and often include identity theft insurance and fraud recovery support.

By the time you turn 18 in America, you know that a lot can hang on the balance of your credit score from loan eligibility, to insurance rates, to even your ability to open a phone service account. Unfortunately, over 16 million American have been victims of identity theft or credit card fraud, which can wreak havoc on a credit score.

If you have a goal to buy a house or take out some other type of loan in the near future, monitoring your credit can help you improve your score so you can qualify for better interest rates. And if you'd like to refinance your student loans down the road, strong credit will, again, be important.

Thankfully, there are several strong credit monitoring services that can help you stay on top of your credit. The best credit monitoring services will notify you whenever they notice anything suspicious on your reports and may even offer advice on how to improve your score. Keep reading to see which credit monitoring services we like the most.